Month: March 2011

What does it mean that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets? Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called […]

Today’s Gospel, Matthew 18:21-35 is a story of mercy and forgiveness. It recalls one of the beatitudes of Jesus: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. In our story today, a man is shown great mercy by his “master”. Yet, when one of his servants finds himself in a similar need of mercy from him, he shows none. When his master finds out, he hands him over until he makes restitution for his debt. The teaching here is two-fold. First, it is an invitation for us to recall God’s tremendous patience and […]

Today’s Gospel, John 4:5-42, is about many things, one of which is seeing Christ for Who He is. As He comes to a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, it is about seeing Christ in our daily life. It is even about discovering Christ more deeply in our sacramental life. He spoke of Living Water, she thought only of a well. He spoke of “who is speaking to you”, and she thought only of Jacob. He spoke of true worship, the Father, of spirit and truth, and she could only speak of her own […]

Saturday’s Gospel from Luke 15 is a famous story of Jesus which reminds us of the incredible patience and mercy of God. Sunday’s Gospel of the woman at the well is another popular Gospel story. Each of these tell us that as much as we long for God, He is all the more seeking us. We have a great capacity as humans to place ourselves first, even in this great and central relationship with God. What these stories from this third weekend of Lent remind us of is the truth that every person is internally, […]

For some reason, my starting point of reflection on this great Solemnity of Mary’s Annunciation is God’s providential preparation for this moment through her own Immaculate Conception. God in His goodness wished to provide for our salvation not only by His Divine Power as God, but in a manner that also incorporated our humanity. Part of the practical application for us, then, is that as God provided for Mary, and provided for His Son’s entrance into our world, surely He provides for us as well, in a manner that honors and respects our individual persons, as […]

Yesterday, our diocesan pastoral staff made our annual retreat. We once again enjoyed the hospitality of the Benedictine Sisters at St. Walburga Abbey in Northern Colorado. We truly enjoyed the new addition to their facility of a conference room and new refectory. It was a bit windy and cool to enjoy the opportunities to walk outdoors, but it was a beautiful setting none-the-less, and a prayerful space. We also enjoyed the guidance of Brother Loughlan Sofield, S.T. (Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity) Brother Loughlan has quite a background of psychology and spirituality, and led […]

Monday evening, the St. Barbara and St. Anthony communities gathered in Cody for Mass followed by a reception at a local restaurant. This was the fourth such gathering around the diocese in an effort to accomplish a number of things. First of all, we wish to gather for prayer with our people. Each of these events begins with Mass, which is the heart and soul of who we are as Catholics. Then, we gather for some time to socialize and enjoy a light meal. Jesus was always building relationships, and so must we as Catholics. […]

Our Development Director, Matt Potter and I continue our visit around the diocese trying to garner some early support for this year’s annual campaign, Living And Giving In Christ. We spent Saturday night in Rawlins after a wonderful Feast Day celebration at St. Joseph. There was a light snow through the night, which created quite a mess on the interstate. After a few very serious accidents, they closed I80 just west of Rawlins. This is one of the more hazardous stretches of insterstate in the country. After the sun came up and temperatures got above […]

This Second Weekend of Lent brought me to St. Joseph parish in Rawlins, Wyoming. Even though we celebrated the 2nd Sunday of Lent, we also celebrated the parish feast day. The Saturday Evening Mass had a very full church, followed by a nice dinner and reception in the parish hall. At one point in time, Carbon county was the wool capitol of the world (so I’m told by the present pastor, Fr. Sam Hayes, who now pastors his home parish.) This community is another one that relies heavily on the energy industry of the state. […]

The past few days have once again been packed. I think I am now “officially” a veteran bishop of Wyoming. Tuesday I began work on my second set of tires! Wednesday the provincial bishops met in Denver. This province includes the states of Colorado and Wyoming; four dioceses, five bishops, not including three retired bishops who also still live in their respective dioceses. Archbishop Charles Chaput is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Denver and they also have an auxiliary bishop, Bishop James Conley. The other two dioceses of Colorado are Colorado Springs, Bishop Michael Sheridan, and Pueblo, […]

Welcome to my blog, and thanks for visiting! I became the 4th Archbishop of Anchorage on November 9, 2016 after 7 years as the Bishop of Cheyenne and many more as a priest of the Archdiocese of Indianpolis.

Preaching is a priority for my episcopal ministry, and this blog is my humble effort to engage the New Evangelization and to serve you, God’s holy, faithful people! Enjoy your visit, and together, may we grow in truth and love.